The alert went to authorities in Jasper, Florida, a very poor, sparsely populated rural farming area near the Georgia state line. Jasper police searched near the few homes that dot the locale but said they'd initially found nothing.

"This was mostly a safety check and we were told if anyone came into contact with this person, to use extreme caution," Jasper Sheriff Harrell Reid said.

"We checked every road and every residence close to the area but we haven't found anything," Reid said.

They called off the search at 7:30 a.m., about 6 hours after receiving the call from Darien. Nodarse was likely already south of the area when Jasper authorities got the alert.

"Florida is a very big hiding spot for fugitives coming down from the north," said U.S. Marshal Rick Jessup. "It's a very large state, transient, easy to blend in, and obviously in this case, a lot of family members come down this way, so it's an easy place to come and hide."